Interview with Kontravoid
Photo: Corinne Shiavone, IG @perpetualmobile
by Stina Isabel Gavrilin
Thursday, March 2nd will see long-awaited Canadian EBM mastermind Kontravoid aka Cameron Findlay set foot in Tallinn's Sveta Bar for a banging finish to his UK / Europe tour... What better time to bother the busy man than in the midst of this heavily packed live schedule!
Indicate your position on the EBM compass, what does your B stand for?
Could you give a brief explanation of what the Kontravoid concept is about to those who have been living under a rock or haven’t yet found the right path to their true leader, the pale prince of the void?
There’s no meaning or concept behind the void. Half of my lyrics are gibberish or they don’t make sense at all, and the image of the project is based around a $10 mask that can be bought at a Halloween store. But there’s an energy in the music that I make, and I know there’s something very real about that, I’m just not sure how to describe it.
Do you ever miss being in an edgy indie beep boop band or have those elitist chickens in your backyard given you all the fulfilment you need in life?
No but I have some nice memories of the beep boop scene. That era was my intro to touring and playing in a band “professionally” and I had some great experiences. The chickens are all I care about now.
That mask of yours has gone through quite a journey of plastic surgeries throughout the years. Where will evolution take it next?
I’m going to try to merge my skin with the mask and turn it into some kind of gross looking Cronenberg-esque flesh face. Just gotta figure out how to do that kind of thing.
What does the exfoliation process look like for a faceless void?
I put on mask. I play the show. Mask gets very hot. My pores open and my face is cleansed in about 45 minutes.
What has influenced the development of your sound besides music itself? You know... environments, experiences, traumas, crippling depression... etc etc.
Yeah all of those things, and also a lot of guilt. I feel like I shouldn’t be doing this project sometimes but it feels great to do, and it brings me a lot of happiness, and I know there are the Kvoid enjoyers out there so I don’t want to let them down ever. But there are many conflicting emotions that go into the music which can be hard to describe.
Do you (certified king of the goths) think you could tackle Andrew Eldritch (a little cowardly bitch) in a fist fight?
No.
What did they threaten you with in Berlin to have you end up moving to the state that the Red Hot Chili Peppers so clearly warned everyone about?
Nothing, I love Berlin, but I also love my car and listening to Peter Gabriel as I drive off into the sunset. This was unachievable for me before I moved to Los Angeles.
We poor people here in eastern Europe are very flattered to have you play for us. What incredible deeds are you planning to commit here, good sir?
Thanks for having me, I’m going to show up with my beep boop tools and yell at you through a mask obviously.
Being the head of the goths’ Anonymous movement, what’s your next move towards saving the world? A country album perhaps?
A country album from me probably would solve all the worlds problems so yeah, I’m going to do that after this tour. Thank you for the suggestion, as well as asking these wonderful questions.
Before Kontravoid hits the stage, the evening will be warmed up by Kris Baha (DE) and the party goes on with DJs Nikolajev and our very own 4-got-10 behind the decks!
"Faceless" EP on Bandcamp: https://kontravoid.bandcamp.com/album/faceless
